Ice hockey design and branding

There’s a new Sheriff in town!

Nottingham Sheriffs are a recreational Ice Hockey Club based at the National Ice Centre in Nottingham. The inspiration for the team came from Pete Burgin, the founder/owner of the Sheriffs. His brief to us was to create Ice hockey design and branding that would help them to punch above their weight.

Background

In their inaugural match they lost to the Sheffield Mavericks but made up for it with their first win against local rivals, the Nottingham Outlaws. They’re now going from strength to strength.

Initially, Pete was inspired after viewing other projects within our portfolio. He particularly liked the Blue Reef and Midwest projects, as they both had the ‘American’ feel to them. This gave him the confidence that we were the right choice when it came to ice hockey design and branding.

Our solution

First of all we created a number of design options and presented them as fully realised logos mocked up on to a jersey. Pete was drawn to the ones that used shields and crests and had some historical context. By adding the shield and overlapping hockey sticks we gave the logo an heraldic feel. This was in-keeping with the legends of Sheriffs and Outlaws… a perfect mix of American sports and British folklore.

Client feedback

Our first reaction to the logos was excellent. We always wanted a shield or a crest of some sort and BLU:72 created lots of options. The team are very happy with the chosen design. The uniforms and the rest of the branded items also look fantastic, we can’t wait to get everything produced.

Pete Burgin, Owner – Nottingham Sheriffs IHC

Finally, after deciding on the logo, Pete commissioned us to create the look and feel of the whole club. We designed the uniforms, the equipment, advertising and apparel.

The result

By the end of the project we felt we’d achieved our goal of helping the Sheriffs punch above their weight. They may be a recreational club, but by applying the right design principles to ice hockey design and branding, they now look as professional as the Nottingham Panthers.

We have also done some design work for the Nottingham Panthers, check it out here.